Developer spends most of their time on a terminal, from server setup to debugging code and managing deployments, so in this article, let’s look at some Linux Commands. Linux is a powerful open-source operating system that has gained widespread popularity over the years. It was created in 1991 by Finnish programmer Linus Torvalds, who originally developed it as a hobby project. Today, Linux powers various devices, from smartphones and laptops to servers and supercomputers. One thing that makes Linux stand out is its extensive command-line interface, which allows developers to perform a wide range of tasks quickly and efficiently.
Linux commands are a set of powerful tools that allow developers to interact with the operating system and perform various tasks. Whether you are a system administrator or a casual user, Linux commands can help you perform tasks ranging from basic file operations to complex system administration tasks. Some Linux commands are simple, such as changing directories or creating files, while others are more complex, such as configuring network settings or managing user accounts. With the right knowledge of Linux commands, users can gain a deeper understanding of the operating system and unlock its full potential.
Top 30 Linux Commands for Everyday Use
1. man – The “man” command in Linux is short for “manual,” and it is used to display the documentation for a particular command or utility in the terminal. The man pages typically provide detailed information on the usage, options, and syntax of a command, as well as examples and other helpful tips. One of the great things about the man pages is that they are built into the operating system, so you don’t need an internet connection or special software to access them.
Additionally, because the community and the developers themselves maintain the man pages, they are usually very accurate and up-to-date. Learning how to use the “man” command is an essential skill for any Linux user, and it can save you a lot of time and frustration when trying to figure out how to use a particular command or utility.
2. Is – The “Is” command in Linux is one of the most commonly used commands, used to list the contents of a directory. When you run the “Is” command without arguments, it will display the files and directories in the current working directory. However, many options and arguments can be used with the “Is” command to customize the output.
For example, the “-I” option will display the directory’s contents in long format, showing details such as the file permissions, owner, group, size, and modification time. The “-a” option will show all files and directories, including hidden ones that start with a dot. The “-h” option will display the file sizes in human-readable format, making it easier to read and understand. The “Is” command is a versatile tool that can be used in many different ways, and it is essential for navigating and managing files and directories in Linux.
3. cd – The “cd” command in Linux is used to change the current working directory. When you open a terminal window, your current working directory is typically your home directory. By using the “cd” command followed by a directory path, you can change the working directory to that directory. For example, “cd /var/log” will change the current working directory to the “/var/log” directory. The “cd” command is a fundamental tool for navigating the Linux file system and is often used in conjunction with other commands to create, move, and manage files and directories.
It is important to note that the “cd” command only changes the working directory for the current terminal session. If you open a new terminal window or log out and log back in, you will be back in your home directory.
4. pwd – The “pwd” command in Linux is used to print the current working directory to the terminal. When you open a terminal window, your current working directory is typically your home directory. By running the “pwd” command, you can see the full path to your current working directory, which can be useful when you need to reference a file or directory in that location.
The “pwd” command is a simple yet essential tool for navigating the Linux file system, and it is often used in conjunction with other commands like “cd” and “Is” to move and manage files and directories. Additionally, the “pwd” command can be helpful when writing scripts or configuring settings that require specific file
paths.
5. mkdir – The “mkdir” command in Linux is used to create a new directory or folder. When you run the “mkdir” command followed by a directory name, it will create a new directory in the current working directory. For example, “mkdir my_folder” will create a new directory called “my_folder” in the current working directory. The “mkdir” command can also be used with multiple directory names to create multiple directories at once.
The “mkdir” command supports several options, such as “-p” to create parent directories as needed and “-m” to set the permissions of the newly created directory. The “mkdir” command is a simple yet essential tool for managing files and directories in Linux, and it is often used in conjunction with other commands like “cd” and “Is” to navigate and organize the file system.
6. rmdir – The “rmdir” command in Linux is used to remove an empty directory or folder. When you run the “rmdir” command followed by the name of an empty directory, it will delete that directory from the file system. The “rmdir” command is similar to the “rm” command, which is used to delete files and directories, but the “rmdir” command can only remove empty directories. If you try to use the “rmdir” command on a directory that contains files or other directories, you will get an error message. Additionally, the “rmdir” command supports several options, such as “-p” to remove parent directories if they are empty and “-v” to display the name of each directory as it is removed.
7. mv – The “my” command in Linux is used to move or rename files and directories. When you run the “my” command followed by a source file or directory and a destination file or directory, it will move the source to the destination. For example, “mv file1.txt /home/user/Documents” will move the file “file1.txt” to the “Documents” directory in the user’s home directory.
The “my” command can be used to rename files or directories by specifying the new name as the destination. For example, “mv file1.txt file2.txt” will rename the file “filel.txt” to “file2.txt”. The “my” command supports several options, such as “-i” to prompt before overwriting an existing file and “-u” to only move files that are newer than the destination file.
8. ср – The “cp” command in Linux is used to copy files and directories from one location to another. When you run the “cp” command followed by a source file or directory and a destination file or directory, it will create a copy of the source at the destination. For example, “cp filel.txt /home/user/Documents” will create a copy of the file “filel.txt” in the “Documents” directory in the user’s home directory. The “cp” command can also be used with multiple source files or directories to copy multiple files at once. Additionally, the “cp” command supports several options, such as “-r” to copy directories recursively and “-i” to prompt before overwriting an existing file.
9. open – The “open” command in Linux is not standard, but it is commonly used in some Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu. The “open” command is used to open files or directories with their default application or program. When you run the “open” command followed by a file or directory name, it will open the file or directory using the default application or program associated with that file type. For example, “open my_file.txt” will open the file “my_file.txt” using the default text editor. The “open” command is a convenient way to quickly open files and directories without having to specify the application or program to use.
However, it is important to note that the “open” command may not be available or behave differently depending on the Linux distribution and desktop environment being used.
10. touch – The “touch” command in Linux is used to create an empty file or update the modification time of an existing file. When you run the “touch” command followed by a file name, it will create an empty file with that name if it does not already exist. If the file already exists, the “touch” command will update the modification time of the file to the current time. The “touch” command is often used to create placeholder files or update file timestamps for scripts and automation tasks.
The “touch” command supports several options, such as “-m” to only update the modification time and not create a new file and “-t” to specify a specific timestamp for the file. Additionally, the “touch” command can be used with multiple files to create or update multiple files at once.
11. find – The “find” command in Linux is a powerful utility for searching for files and directories based on various criteria. When you run the “find” command followed by a starting directory and a set of search criteria, it will search through the directory and all its subdirectories to find files and directories that match the criteria. The search criteria can include file or directory names, modification times, file types, sizes, and ownership.
For example, “find /home/user/Documents -name *.txt” will search the “Documents” directory in the user’s home directory and all its subdirectories for files with the extension “.txt”. The “find” command can also be used to perform actions on the files and directories it finds, such as deleting, copying, or moving them. The “find” command supports several options, such as “-type” to specify the type of file to search for and “-mtime” to search for files modified within a specific time range.
12. In – The “In” command in Linux is used to create links between files and directories. Two types of links can be created using the “In” command: hard links and symbolic links. Hard links are essentially multiple names for the same file, meaning that changes made to one file will be reflected in all other linked files. Symbolic links, on the other hand, are pointers to another file or directory, meaning that changes made to the original file or directory will not affect the linked file or directory.
To create a hard link using the “In” command, you can run “In [source file] [destination file]”. For example, “In file1.txt file2.txt” will create a hard link between “filel.txt” and “file2.txt”, so changes made to either file will be reflected in the other.
To create a symbolic link using the “In” command, you can run “In -s [source file or directory] [destination file or directory]”. For example, “In -s /home/user/Documents/my_folder /home/user/Desktop/my_link” will create a symbolic link called “my_link” on the desktop that points to the “my_folder” directory in the user’s “Documents” folder.
13. gzip – The “gzip” command in Linux is a utility used for file compression and decompression. When you run the “gzip” command followed by a file name, it will compress the file and replace the original file with the compressed version, which has the “.gz” extension. The “gzip” command uses a compression algorithm to reduce the size of the file, making it more efficient to store and transfer. The compressed file can be easily decompressed using the “gunzip” command, which restores the original file.
The “gzip” command supports several options, such as “-c” to send the compressed output to the standard output instead of replacing the original file and “-r” to compress all files in a directory and its subdirectories recursively.
The “gzip” command is a useful tool for managing disk space and transferring files, especially when dealing with large files. It is widely used in Linux and other Unix-like systems, and many software packages and libraries are distributed in compressed “.gz” format to reduce their size.
14. tar – The tar command in Linux is a utility used to create and manipulate tar archives, which are commonly used for file compression, archiving, and backup purposes. Tar stands for “tape archive”, which reflects its origins as a tool for creating archives on tape drives.
One of the key advantages of using the tar command is that it can be used to archive entire directory structures, preserving their hierarchical structure and file permissions. This can be very useful when creating backups or transferring files between systems.
In addition to creating archives, the tar command can also be used to extract files from existing archives or to add new files to an existing archive. It can also be used to compress archives using various compression algorithms, such as gzip or bzip2, which can significantly reduce the size of the archive.
15. gunzip – The gunzip command in Linux is a tool used to decompress files that have been compressed using the gzip compression algorithm. It is part of the gzip package, which is widely used for file compression and decompression on Unix-based systems. The gunzip command is very easy to use, and can quickly decompress files without requiring any additional options or parameters.
Another advantage of “gunzip” is that it can be used in conjunction with other Linux commands to process compressed files. For example, you can use the tar command to create a tar archive of a directory, and then pipe it to gunzip to compress the archive. This can be done in a single command, which can be very convenient when working with large files.
16. alias – The alias command in Linux is a tool that allows you to create shortcuts or alternate names for other commands or command sequences. With the alias command, you can define your custom commands or shortcuts that can be used in place of longer, more complex commands.
One of the key advantages of using the alias command is that it can help you save time and improve your workflow by reducing the amount of typing required for frequently used commands. For example, you can create an alias for a long command with many options, and then simply use the alias to execute the command with all its options without having to type them out each time.
17. cat – The cat command in Linux is a utility that is used to concatenate and display files on the terminal. The name “cat” stands for “concatenate”, reflecting its primary purpose of combining multiple files into a single output stream.
The cat command is that it is very simple and easy to use. You can use it to display the contents of a single file on the terminal or to combine the contents of multiple files into a single output stream. This can be useful for a variety of tasks, such as viewing the contents of log files or combining multiple text files into a single document.
The cat command can also be used to create new files by redirecting its output to a file. This can be done using the “>” symbol to redirect the output to a new file, or the “>>” symbol to append the output to an existing file.
18. grep – The grep command in Linux is a utility that is used to search for specific patterns or regular expressions within text files. The name “grep” stands for “global regular expression print”, reflecting its primary purpose of finding and displaying lines of text that match a given pattern.
It can be used to search for a wide range of patterns, including simple text strings, regular expressions, and even complex patterns that include logical operators such as “and” or “or”. This makes it a powerful tool for searching and filtering text files based on specific criteria.
19. sort – A sort command is a powerful tool in Linux that allows users to sort lines of text in a file or standard input based on specific criteria. By default, sort sorts text in ascending order and removes duplicate lines. However, users can customize the sort behavior by specifying options like -r to sort in descending order, -n to sort numerically, or -k to sort by a specific column. The sort command can also be used in combination with other commands like grep and cut to manipulate data and extract relevant information.
One of the most useful features of the sort command is its ability to sort large files efficiently. The sort command uses a technique called external sorting, which breaks the file into smaller chunks that can fit into memory, sorts those chunks, and then merges them back together into a single sorted file. This makes sorting very efficient and able to handle large files that might not fit into memory.
20. echo – The echo command is a simple but versatile tool in Linux that allows users to print text to the terminal or a file. By default, echo simply prints its arguments to the terminal, separated by spaces and followed by a newline. However, users can customize the behavior of echo by specifying options like -n to suppress the newline character or -e to enable the interpretation of escape sequences like \t for tab or \n for newline. The echo command can be used to display messages to the user, print the values of variables, or generate output for use in scripts.
One important thing to note about the echo command is that it is not always safe to use with arbitrary input. If the input contains special characters like quotes or backslashes, they can cause unexpected behavior or even introduce security vulnerabilities. In these cases, users should use more robust tools like printf to ensure that the input is printed correctly.
21. printf – The printf command is a powerful tool in Linux that allows users to format and print text to the terminal or a file. Unlike the echo command, printf allows users to specify a format string that controls the layout and appearance of the output. The format string can include placeholders for variables, control characters like newline or tab, and formatting options like width, precision, and alignment. The printf command is often used in shell scripts to generate formatted output for use in reports or logs.
One of the most useful features of the printf command is its ability to format numbers and dates. The format string can include special placeholders for integers, floating-point numbers, and dates, and users can specify options like the number of decimal places or the date format. This makes printf a powerful tool for generating human-readable output from raw data. Additionally, printf can be used in combination with other commands like awk and sed to manipulate and format data in complex ways.
22. chown- The chown command in Linux is used to change the owner and group ownership of files and directories. It is commonly used by system administrators to manage file permissions and control access to files. The command syntax takes the form chown [options] owner[:group] file, where the owner is the new owner of the file or directory, the group is the new group ownership (optional), and the file is the file or directory to modify ownership on. The chown command can be used to change ownership for a single file or directory, or recursively for an entire directory tree.
It requires root privileges to modify ownership of files and directories owned by other users. Without root privileges, users can only change ownership of files and directories that they own. The chown command can also be used in combination with other commands like find to modify ownership for multiple files or directories at once.
23. chmod – The chmod command in Linux is used to change the permissions of files and directories. It is commonly used by system administrators to control access to files and directories by users and groups. The command syntax takes the form chmod [options] mode file, where mode is the new permission mode, specified as a combination of letters and numbers, and the file is the file or directory to modify permissions on. The chmod command can be used to grant or revoke read, write, and execute permissions for the owner, group, and other users.
One of the most powerful features of the chmod command is its ability to use symbolic mode expressions to modify permissions. These expressions allow users to specify changes to the existing permissions by adding or subtracting permissions for the owner, group, and other users. For example, the expression chmod g+rx file adds read and execute permissions for the group, while chmod o-rwx file removes all permissions for other users.
24. vim – Vim is a popular command-line text editor in Linux and other Unix-like systems. It is a highly configurable and powerful editor that can be customized to meet the needs of individual users. The vim command is used to launch the editor and to open and edit files. In vim, users can navigate and edit the text using a combination of keyboard shortcuts, commands, and modes. The editor supports syntax highlighting for a wide variety of programming languages, as well as many advanced features like macro recording, plugin support, and integration with external tools like Git.
One of the most important features of vim is its modal editing system. In vim, users switch between different modes to perform different tasks. The most commonly used modes are “normal” mode, which is used for navigation and issuing commands, and “insert” mode, which is used for typing and editing text. vim also includes many other modes for more advanced tasks, like a visual mode for selecting blocks of text, a command-line mode for entering commands, and a replace mode for overwriting text. This modal system can be challenging to learn at first, but it allows users to work with text much more efficiently once they are familiar with it.
25. nano – Nano is a popular command-line text editor in Linux and other Unix-like systems, known for its simplicity and ease of use. It is designed to be an easy-to-learn alternative to more powerful editors like vim and emacs. The nano command is used to launch the editor and to open and edit files. In nano, users can navigate and edit the text using familiar keyboard shortcuts and commands. The editor includes features like syntax highlighting for many programming languages, search and replace, and multiple undo/redo.
26. whoami – The “whoami” command in Linux is a simple yet useful command that is used to display the current user’s username. When executed, the “whoami” command prints the username of the user who is currently logged in to the terminal session. The command syntax is straightforward and simply consists of typing “whoami” and pressing Enter.
The “whoami” command can be particularly useful when used in scripts or command-line tools that need to perform different actions based on the user’s identity. For example, a script that needs to access files or directories that are only accessible by the current user could use the “whoami” command to determine the user’s identity before attempting to access the files.
27. who – When executed, the who command displays a list of all users who are currently logged in to the system, along with additional information such as the date and time they logged in, the terminal or display they are using, and the IP address they are connected from. The command syntax is straightforward and simply consists of typing who and pressing Enter.
The who command can be particularly useful for system administrators who need to keep track of user activity on a system. By running the who command, an administrator can quickly see who is currently logged in, where they are logged in from, and how long they have been logged in. This information can be useful for monitoring system usage and identifying potential security issues, such as unauthorized access or suspicious activity.
28. sudo – The name “sudo” stands for “superuser do,” which reflects its primary use case of executing commands as the system superuser, also known as the root user. By default, most Linux systems are configured to only allow the root user to perform certain administrative tasks, such as installing system packages or modifying system configuration files. However, the sudo command allows authorized users to perform these tasks without having to log in as the root user.
The sudo command is particularly useful in environments where multiple users need to share administrative tasks, as it allows for fine-grained control over which users are authorized to perform which tasks. System administrators can configure the sudo command to grant specific users or groups the ability to execute certain commands with elevated privileges while restricting their ability to perform other tasks. Additionally, the sudo command can be used to execute commands as another user, which can be useful for tasks that require specific permissions or access to specific resources.
29. passwd – The passwd command in Linux is a powerful tool that is used to change the password for a user account. When executed, the passwd command prompts the user to enter their current password and then enter a new password twice to confirm. The new password must meet certain requirements, such as a minimum length and complexity, depending on the system’s configuration.
The passwd command is an important tool for managing user account security in Linux systems, as it allows users to change their passwords regularly to prevent unauthorized access. Additionally, system administrators can use the passwd command to force users to change their passwords or reset forgotten passwords.
30. ping – The ping command in Linux is a network troubleshooting tool that is used to test the connectivity between two networked devices. When executed, the ping command sends a series of small packets, called “echo requests,” to the specified device or IP address and waits for a response. If the device or IP address responds, the ping command displays information about the round-trip time, or latency, between the two devices, as well as the number of packets sent and received.
The ping command is a useful tool for diagnosing network connectivity issues, as it can help identify problems with network hardware, software, or configuration. Additionally, the ping command can be used to measure the performance and reliability of a network connection over time, which can be useful for monitoring network performance and identifying potential issues before they become critical.
We hope these Linux commands will be helpful in your development journey. If you want to learn more about Linux, please feel free to comment below.
